For a hybrid vehicle provided with an engine, a differential mechanism having three rotary elements to which the engine, a first motor/generator, and an intermediate power transmitting member are respectively connected, a second motor/generator operatively connected to the intermediate power transmitting member, and an automatic transmission which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the intermediate power transmitting member and drive wheels and in which a shifting action is performed by selective engagement of a plurality of coupling devices, a control apparatus is well known. For example, this corresponds to a hybrid vehicle described in JP-2014-223888A. It is disclosed in JP-2014-223888A that a torque of the first motor/generator and a torque of the second motor/generator are controlled during the shifting action of the automatic transmission on the basis of a torque of the engine and a torque capacity of the automatic transmission, such that an angular acceleration value of the second motor/generator and an angular acceleration value of the engine coincide with respective target values.
While an output torque of the first motor/generator is limited during a power-on shift-down action of the automatic transmission, the first motor/generator may not be able to generate a torque for lowering an operating speed thereof during the shifting (i.e., the torque necessary for progress of the shifting action) in addition to a reaction torque receiving an output torque of the engine. In such a case, the progress of the shifting action may stagnate, or an operating speed of the engine may race up (temporarily increase) higher than, for example, a post-shifting synchronizing speed, as a rotating speed of the intermediate power transmitting member increases due to the shift-down action of the automatic transmission, possibly giving a strange feeling to a driver.